


12 Days of Holiday Smut

by SonneillonV



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, swtor - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Holiday, House Ekari, Life day, M/M, Multi, PWP, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-21 20:35:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13151556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonneillonV/pseuds/SonneillonV
Summary: An ongoing project I'm doing for fun, because Arizona doesn't offer me the degree of holiday cheer I require.  Lots of smut, PWP, snuggling, fluff, and plenty of consensual kink.  Covers several fandoms plus some original settings I like to run games in.  Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Auryn is a little redheaded Morganian. Dinir is Chiss, and the heir apparent to the position of House Ekari Chief of Security. Everybody is of age here, though there's a four year difference between Auryn and Dinir. This story contains mild consensual D/s.

Auryn hung back at the rear of the group. He didn’t have his stealth suit, so he couldn’t literally disappear, but next to the other members of House Ekari it was easy for him to go unnoticed. He was bundled up in his winter coat in Ekari colors – black, burgundy, and pale gold – with a scarf of hinterfang fur covering him up to his long, pointed ears. He’d wrapped his braids around the rest of his hair and pinned it to the back of his head, all except the shock of autumn-orange bangs that fell over his eyes, and kept his mittened hands shoved deep in his pockets.

Fat, wet snowflakes that were mostly ice crystals drifted down from the sky, chilling the tips of his ears and slicking his hair. Ahead of him, Darth Scion and Lord Passagos and their respective concubines strolled languidly, enjoying the holiday decorations and pausing to admire festive window displays. They were approaching the square, where they would traditionally split up and do their holiday shopping. The closer they got, the further Auryn hung back. Darth Scion would make sure he had the basics – clothes for his upcoming school year at the Korriban Academy, weapons, armor fittings, and maintenance kits, bundles of his favorite snacks and teas to keep in his suite and later in his dorm room, and holovids and novels to add to his library. His head of house was thoughtful that way, doing his best even though Auryn knew he wasn’t easy to shop for. But when it came to lavish personal gifts, signs of open affection… well, Darth Scion had Kryos, Nol, Taiko, and even Taka to buy for. Kryos had Scion, Bashir, Teleon, and Satya. Of course they would shower the little ones, Kei’ila and Nayol, with gifts that would firmly cement Life Day as their favorite holiday. Little Attris, visiting with his parents, would receive his gifts from them. Taka would make sure to get something nice for all of them, and MAYBE Dinir might get him something, since Auryn was one of his trainees. But he doubted Taiko would remember him when he had his shiny new boyfriend Jax to think about. And that was perfectly understandable; Auryn liked Jax. Jax deserved to have all of Tai’s attention for their first Life Day together.

Auryn spent a great deal of time and effort making sure nobody felt welcome being too close to him. He could hardly complain when this cut him out of the loop on holiday gift-giving.

The family clustered up when they reached the square, everyone talking over each other and negotiating who would go with whom. Auryn continued to hang back, leaning against a storefront and gazing through the window at the display of flashing, whirring, colorful toys. As expected, no one claimed him, and as groups of lovers and immediate family began to split off together he stayed where he was. It would be more peaceful, less stress, to wander the streets on his own anyway. 

An arm slipped through his. He startled, looking up at his team leader and trainer, Vayin’din’irix, who wore the kind of ironic smirk that only curved the corner of his mouth. 

“Walk with me?” he requested sotto voce, the way they spoke in the shadows when what they had to say was allies-only.

Auryn hesitated, but he nodded.

Dinir turned him away, and they vanished before the rest of the group could notice they were gone. As soon as they were out of sight, Auryn’s tension drained away. He relaxed against Dinir’s side, and Din kept his pace easy to account for Auryn’s shorter stride.

“I want you to understand that it’s all right to say no,” Din said, his voice low, conversationally intimate. “I won’t be offended.”

“I don’t mind,” Auryn replied. He liked Dinir. They weren’t especially close, but they worked closely, and Dinir had always seemed to… understand him. He spoke to Auryn in a language that made sense, set goals he could agree with, and pushed him in the ways he needed to be pushed. He held Din in respect, and followed his orders without issue.

“I haven’t asked my real question yet.” Dinir’s tone was almost always droll, as if everything he said bored him, but Auryn had learned how to hear the cool amusement hidden beneath the affectation. “I wanted to have you alone first.”

The hair on the back of Auryn’s neck prickled. He forced himself to keep breathing evenly. “Well, I’m here.”

They stepped under an awning and out of the flow of holiday shoppers. Din faced him, hands cupped under Auryn’s elbows, keeping him in the lee of his taller frame. “I’d like to spend today with you,” he said. “Outside of professional context.”

Auryn’s stomach promptly turned to butterflies. He did his best to make sure it didn’t show. “That means… what, exactly?”

In response, Dinir reached up and traced gloved fingers over one sharp cheekbone. Auryn’s eyes closed, and he caught his breath. “It means I want to enjoy your company today. I want to shop with you. I want gift ideas for you. And if you consent, I’d like to give them to you privately on Life Day Eve. I’d also like to buy you lunch, and refreshments, and sit with you at that café we both like that has an excellent tactical view of the tree and the ice rink. With any luck, we’ll get to see the Sith acting goofy on skates.”

“So… like a date?”

Din’s smile deepened just a fraction, a hint of real warmth softening the crimson glow of his eyes. “Only if you want. If not, no pressure. This isn’t a, ‘you’re my subordinate, do what I want’ conversation.” He paused, then added, “This is an, ‘I can’t think of anyone’s company I’d enjoy more than yours today’ conversation. Possibly an, ‘I hate holiday shopping but doing it with you might actually be fun’ conversation.”

Auryn tilted his head, shying from eye contact as he considered that. The team had begun training ops in the city lately, mostly hand-offs and retrievals, meeting informants, and other low-risk, low-key errands. They got used to working together in crowds, accounting for equipment problems caused by a glut of radio signals and throngs of people and their chatter, and assessing their surroundings from a security standpoint. All of which meant that he’d put in hours walking the streets of Kaas City at Dinir’s side, feeling comfortable there, as if he knew exactly what he was supposed to do. They weren’t on business today, but he thought that with Dinir he would feel comfortable even among the holiday revelers.

Dinir’s thin, suede gloves traced feather-light over his skin. “I’m older, and I have authority over you,” he said simply. “If you’re even a little uncomfortable, I am fully prepared to wait until you graduate to ask this question again.”

Auryn let the ice melt just a little, expression softening, letting his dark blue eyes show some heat. “Uncomfortable isn’t the word,” he said softly. He laid his hands on Dinir’s chest, soft woolen mittens too silky to catch on the sturdy, weather-resistant fabric of his House Ekari Security coat. It was almost identical to Auryn’s, except for the gold stripes on the shoulders that showed he was more highly ranked. When he graduated, he’d still have fewer gold stripes than Dinir, but his top stripe would be a gold outline, with gold kittat script on a black field: Sith. Sith trumped everything else.

Dinir’s arm slipped comfortably into the arch of his back. Auryn lifted onto his toes, and Dinir bent down, fingertips sliding back across his barely-tamed hair.

They’d never kissed before. They’d barely even flirted before. Dinir had hinted at his interest, but always subtly enough that Auryn could ignore it without making things awkward. But when he slid his mitt around to the back of Dinir’s neck and pulled him down, their mouths fit together without awkwardness, without difficulty, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He wrapped his arms around Dinir’s neck for support, since the Chiss was significantly taller, and let Dinir’s arm hitch against his back and fit him snugly against his body. He parted his lips and flicked his tongue against Dinir’s mouth, and he deepened the kiss readily, sliding his tongue against Auryn’s and tasting him with slow, hungry indulgence, like a man savoring expensive wine.

Auryn shivered, thrilling, blood turning to champagne bubbles as heat pooled in his belly. No question whether the spark was there – he’d felt it every time he caught Dinir watching him with that assessing smile, every time he leaned in just a little too close to correct his form and let his hand linger in the curve of his spine. He’d let it slide, since pursuit wasn’t really his style, and Dinir seemed content to leave things where they were, but he hadn’t discouraged it, trusting that if his Team Leader was serious, he would… well. He would do exactly what he was doing right now.

Auryn was tiny, light. Dinir was strong. It was easy to lift him, turn him, press him up against the storefront so Dinir could slant hard against him and devour his mouth. He stripped one of his gloves off, shoved it in his pocket, and thrust his bare fingers into Auryn’s hair, kneading at the roots and loosening the braid at his temple. A pin dislodged and bounced off Auryn’s coat, tinkling like a tiny bell when it hit the metal walkway. Auryn took that as permission, dragging one mitten off and sliding his fingers along the short hair at the back of Dinir’s head. He wore it in the typical military high-and-tight, not quite short enough to be considered ‘buzzed’, but enough that the texture was delightful to press his palm against and rub across the clipped strands, feeling them tease the softer skin between his fingers. His tongue felt cool against Auryn’s, spine-tinglingly different, making him hyper-aware of every drag and flick of it against his own. He imagined being laid out under all that coolness, filled with it… he’d never slept with a Chiss before.

The heat in his belly turned to a molten ache. He whimpered softly, hitching the resulting hardness against Dinir’s hip.

Dinir gave a soft groan and slid his other hand down, cupping his ass through his tactical cargos and squeezing. Auryn’s nails dragged down the back of his head, and he gasped into his mouth, biting his lower lip firmly in response. That made Dinir hitch and thrust against him, letting Auryn feel his own erection, a hard ridge against his lower belly.

They separated for breath, and Auryn slid down, hiding his face in Dinir’s shoulder. “… I’m not shy,” he murmured. “I don’t need you to wait.”

“I’m not in a hurry,” Dinir assured him, fingers still kneading a handful of Auryn’s ass, rubbing the top of his inner thigh. “But if you’re inviting me to drag you to a hotel room, I won’t argue.”

Tai hadn’t touched him since Jax came home, and there hadn’t been anyone else. Suddenly, Auryn felt the weight of months of thwarted urges, and he knew that he needed Dinir NOW.

He nodded, wrapping his fingers in Dinir’s coat. “I don’t need it gentle….”

Dinir chuckled softly, still rubbing his own cool fingers through the roots of Auryn’s hair. “Fucking you gently never occurred to me,” he murmured, and Auryn shivered hard.

By the time Kryos and Bashir passed, arm in arm, on their way to do their own shopping, the two of them had long since vanished into the crowd.

*** 

Dinir got the room key on his own, and Auryn waited for him near the lifts. He hated being stared at by the staff, hated the curiosity and judgement in their eyes as they categorized him as a fuck toy even if it was true.

He could have killed any of them with minimal effort, so he really didn’t think they were in any place to judge him.

In a hotel like this, every room had windows, but Dinir had gotten the sort of room Auryn felt most comfortable in – no balcony, facing the wall of the building next door, far from the elevators and close to the exits. They both cased the room as soon as they walked in, moving in tandem, pulling the shades and checking the lamps and mirrors. The place was clean enough, and once they’d made sure it was private, Auryn stripped off his coat and toed off his boots, his hair coming undone around his ears as he unbuckled his belt.

Dinir saw this and smiled coolly, unzipping his own coat and shrugging it off lean, powerful shoulders. “I like your hair like that,” he said, and Auryn flushed, looking away. “It doesn’t hide your freckles.” He came closer and trailed his fingers over those freckles, brushing Auryn’s bangs back, and Auryn eased closer and reached for his belt. He melted into more kisses when Dinir drew his face up, disrobing him slow and easy. They wore the same tactical gear, with few variations - his hands found the buckles without hesitation. Dinir’s hands slid down the length of his skinny frame and yanked his shirt free of his waistband, stripping it from his body and diving back in to attack the button on his pants. Auryn groaned against his mouth, biting, sucking at his tongue and lower lip as he answered with hungry ferocity of his own, yanking his blaster harness free and tossing it onto a nearby chair. Then Dinir’s hands were under him, lifting him, and he wrapped his legs around Din’s waist without prompting and sealed their mouths together as he was tumbled onto the hotel’s cheap polyplasticine bedspread.

His hands slid over Dinir’s body, following the lines of taut muscles under cool skin, tracing darker blue scars. Dinir fisted his hand in his hair again, dislodging several more pins, and held him back as his mouth moved down his throat, teeth digging in as Auryn gasped and arched under him, sucking new bruises into his pale skin.

“Hmm,” he murmured against his throat, dragging his teeth over Auryn’s pulse point. He worked his hand free and propped himself on his knees, tugging at Auryn’s braids. “As much as I like this, I think you’d be more comfortable if it was out.”

Auryn grimaced, but he obediently hunted all the pins down and pulled them free, shaking his hair out and twisting to drop the pins on the bedside table. Dinir smiled and pushed his hand back into his wild autumn mane, leaning down to claim his mouth again. “Much better.” He kneaded as he kissed him, thumb tracing the line of one of Auryn’s ears, and Auryn pushed his own pants over his hips so he could press his flushed skin against his. His cock dragged free, bobbing against Dinir’s belly, and Din promptly abandoned the stretch of his skin that he’d been stroking to take him in hand.

Auryn was not a screamer, a fact that his previous partners seemed to find unsatisfying. All that came out was a huffed breath as he spread his legs and arched into Dinir’s hand. But Dinir didn’t do the things that Auryn hated so much – he didn’t watch his face hungrily, looking for evidence of the pleasure he was giving him. He didn’t whisper in his ear, telling him to stop holding back, to let go, to moan and cry for him. He didn’t make Auryn feel like he needed to perform to meet his expectations. He just slid his fingers along his length, learning him, exploring how he fit in his hand and grinding his palm across his shaft. His mouth meandered downward, and soon Auryn was able to bury his face in Dinir’s hair, holding onto him, gasping softly and without noise as stinging bites along his collarbone left new marks on his skin and Dinir’s fingers worked his foreskin against his cockhead in slow, teasing circles.

Dinir’s hand dragged free of his hair as he kept moving down, tongue and teeth exploring his fluttering belly. Still he didn’t look, didn’t watch Auryn, and he began to relax under those cool blue hands, spreading wide and not caring how whorish he looked, letting his head dig back into the comforter and biting his lower lip as Dinir’s mouth ghosted along the line of his iliac.

Dinir didn’t look when he mouthed at Auryn’s balls either, burying his head against him, coaxing his thighs up and over his shoulders. He sucked and licked, rolling Auryn’s balls over his tongue, unraveling him with such thorough attention it seemed like he was just enjoying fellating him, and Auryn happened to be along for the ride. It was perfect, and Auryn gasped and writhed, giving himself over, letting himself fully enjoy the feeling of being pleasured without being scrutinized.

A few genuine mewls had escaped him by the time Dinir actually wrapped his mouth around his cock, sliding down, tongue plying around the flare of his tip. At that, Auryn gave a fluttering moan, fisting one hand in Dinir’s cropped hair as well as he could and letting himself rock up into his mouth. Dinir groaned too, sliding down his length, holding Auryn’s hips tight as if Auryn’s wiggling was an attempt to escape. In that strong grip, he unraveled even more, body twisting against the covers as his heels dragged over Dinir’s back, toes curling in ecstasy.

He convulsed when he came, hips bucking up, breath freezing in his throat as he spilled into Dinir’s mouth. Din didn’t flinch, swallowing him down and dragging his nails hard along the underside of Auryn’s thigh to make sure he didn’t wiggle free as he swallowed against his cock.

Afterward, when he finally slumped, panting raggedly and staring at the ceiling in a daze, Dinir kissed and licked him clean and slowly pulled away. He kissed his way up Auryn’s heaving stomach, pausing to tease his nipples and smile when Auryn gave a strained little groan.

“Can I have you?” he whispered against his chest, and Auryn exhaled, closing his eyes, nodding. Dinir kept crawling up his body, pressing him down into the covers with his delicious weight, hand sliding under Auryn’s head to stroke through his hair again as he shared the taste of him, tongue sliding into his mouth, one knee slipping between his thighs. “I know,” he whispered as Auryn arched against his thigh. “You don’t like it face to face. I just want this first.” He kept kissing him, and Auryn’s eyebrow arched, but he let the implication slide at least until Dinir paused to fish for lube in his pockets.

“Spying?” he whispered.

Dinir offered him a sheepish smile. “Not on purpose. You know how it is.”

Indeed he did, and he found he didn’t even feel offended about it. There were no secrets in House Ekari, especially not from Security. He himself knew far more about the private lives of his housemates than they would probably wish. Dinir had most likely come across the information by sheer osmosis, and he’d filed it away so that if Auryn ever let him fuck him, he wouldn’t make him uncomfortable. Which, in a way, was sort of nice.

Dinir wanted to keep kissing him while he prepped him, and Auryn relaxed, arms sliding around his neck, spreading wide to accept Din’s weight on top of him. It felt good, the pressure of his fingers against the ache created by orgasmically clenching on nothing. He let Din know he liked it, dragging his nails hard across his back until Din groaned in pleasure and arched, feline, against his hands.

He rolled over easily and lifted his hips. That kind of silent invitation always made him feel dirty – he was hyper-aware of how his balls hung down, damp and loose from the heat, and what a display he made with his long legs braced and his back prettily arched. It was the kind of feeling that he shamefully enjoyed. Dinir didn’t make him regret it. He skimmed his hands over Auryn’s hips, tracing the sides of his body, and leaned in to drag his tongue along his taint and leave a line of stinging nips across his thigh that made him hitch and his softened cock twitch with interest.

“You’re gorgeous,” Dinir murmured against his spine as he knelt up behind him. “I’ve always thought so.”

With his quiet, dry humor and sleek lethality, Auryn thought Dinir was incredibly sexy. That wasn’t the kind of thing he felt comfortable confessing, though, so he just arched more, silently urging him to get on with the main event. Cool, calloused hands slid over his back, then gripped his hips as he started to push in, driving the breath out of Auryn, earning a few soft, strained moans from him. He was a different shape from Tai, closer to human, filling him more insistently with the length of his shaft and pushing a little deeper, though the root of him lacked that teasing flare that he’d found so stimulating with the Devaronian. As he rocked, easing his way in, letting Auryn’s body adjust to him, Auryn found he didn’t mind – Dinir felt amazing in different ways, and Auryn needed that difference to really relax into their rhythm. He groaned as he ground against his upturned ass, making sure he was buried to the root, then began to roll his hips as Auryn arched and bore down on him, gasping at the thick drag of his cock and the way his balls nudged against his. He set an easy rhythm, but not because he was trying to go easy on Auryn – Dinir was METICULOUS, savoring every inch of friction, every slight change in angle he could explore, the way Auryn’s body pushed his foreskin back over his tip and then dragged it forward again. He luxuriated in it, hands kneading Auryn’s hips and ass with proprietary confidence, using him as if he had nothing to do for hours but take his pleasure in Auryn’s body, and Auryn felt his head going light and hazy, his skin flushing, heart tripping over itself as he sank further and further into the slow-growing heat.

It made him impatient. Made him WANT. He rocked back, demanding, groaning as he dragged his nails over Dinir’s hip and tried to get him to speed up.

Dinir chuckled, took his wrist, and pinned it down, biting along the back of his neck. “No,” he said, amused but firm. 

Auryn growled and bucked.

Dinir took care of that too, shoving his other hand out from under him and pinning him face down on the bed, back arched almost painfully as he fucked up into him. Auryn hitched and struggled, knees sliding futilely along the covers, and Dinir twisted his arms up behind him, sucking on the tip of his ear before ghosting his breath across it.

“Do you have a word?”

Auryn’s mind was magma and thorns, radiating heat, prickly. It took him several harsh breaths and a repeat of the question before he really understood what Dinir was asking him for. “Red,” he growled, then gasped as his squirming pushed Dinir’s cock against his inner walls at delightful angles.

“All right, red. Do you need to use it now?”

“YOU’RE gonna need to use it,” Auryn snarled, bucking against him, but Dinir shoved him back down, his grip steely.

“Auryn, I’m serious. Do you need us to do something different, or do you just enjoy fighting?”

He exhaled, deflating a little, muttering. “No. I like… keep doing this.”

He heard Dinir’s smile in his voice as the Chiss nibbled along his ear, tugging it with his teeth. “That’s better. I only have some vague ideas what you like, so I need you to be willing to stop me, okay? Promise you’ll say it, and not just check out. ‘Cause I know you check out sometimes,” he added more sternly, squeezing Auryn’s trapped hand, putting a little more pressure on his twisted wrist. “None of that. Deal? Talk to me.”

Auryn flinched, narrow shoulders folding almost together. “Fine.”

“Ryn,” Dinir said softly, tone softening. “That’s a deal-breaker, okay? Please.” When Auryn didn’t answer right away, he mumbled against his back, “If I have any doubt that you’re actually enjoying this, it majorly gives me the creeps. I just can’t do that, not when it’s already crossing a few lines.”

He had no choice but to relent, sagging forward and huffing. “I’ll use it,” he promised.

Dinir smiled and kissed the back of his neck. “Thank you, gorgeous. I want very badly to make you my dirty little cock slut, but only if I know you’re getting off as hard as I’m about to in this unbelievably TIGHT little ass.” He finished with a growl that helped soothe away most of Auryn’s ruffled feelings, grinding hard against him and drawing a surprised moan from him before he could swallow it. “You want that, don’t you?” He kissed the length of Auryn’s slender neck, dragging his teeth over a tendon. “Pinned under me, all disheveled and fucked boneless? I could enjoy you for hours….” As if in demonstration, he rolled his hips again, teasing Auryn with slow, grinding thrusts, making him groan and buck under him, struggling against his grip. “Feisty little fuck-toy,” he whispered, and switched Auryn’s wrists to one hand so he could reach back and pinch the skin on his inner thighs, earning a cry of ecstasy and outrage as Auryn fought to get his hands free. He slapped Auryn’s ass sharply, then pinched the skin until it screamed, and Auryn sobbed, one knee sliding out from under him, leaving him smushed and breathless under Dinir as he braced his knees and put his weight on Auryn’s wrists in the dip of his back and fucked him so hard his teeth rattled in his head. Auryn panted, keening, toes curling as his body throbbed with ache and pleasure. The smooth bedcover didn’t give his trapped cock much stimulation, but it didn’t matter – if Dinir kept pounding him just like that, he’d cum anyway. He did his best to communicate this with wordless cries and hitched sobs muffled in the blanket, squirming as much as he could, tears sliding free when he found an angle that guided Dinir’s cock just right but barely allowed him a trickle of air.

Between that slight asphyxiated daze and the waves of pleasure and pain, he went taut when he came. His throat closed on a scream and every muscle in his body tightened and quivered as he dribbled messily all over the covers under him, body squeezing Dinir’s cock in arrhythmic convulsions. Dinir groaned through his teeth and worked him hard and fast, hips slapping against his ass until Auryn gave one last, hard shudder and slumped, panting so hard he wheezed.

“That’s it,” he whispered, breathless, letting go of Auryn’s wrists and carefully arranging him so he was flat on the bed, supine. “That’s my gorgeous little slut…” He let his knee slide down a little, arched, and ground into Auryn’s body from that new angle, making his eyes roll back as he struggled against Dinir’s weight.

“No,” he gasped as that slow, grinding roll started up again. “Nononono!”

Dinir moaned and pulled his hair out of the way so he could suck on his already bruised neck. “Oh, yes,” he breathed as he pushed his cock balls-deep into Auryn’s ass, forcing a breathless sob from him. “Oh, fuck yes, Ryn. Do you have another one in you? Or should I just fill this hot little hole with my cum and finish it?”

Auryn groaned helplessly, hitching as he strained to breathe under his lover’s weight. “I… I don’t have.. any more,” he wheezed, and Dinir chuckled. He also took a little weight onto his elbows so Auryn could get a few full breaths.

“There, gorgeous,” he whispered, using his knees to force Auryn’s further apart, dragging his cock almost all the way out of him. “I want you to be a good little bitch for me, all right? I’m gonna fuck this ass just the way I want to, spank you, tease you, and you’re gonna squeeze when I slide out and push when I slide in. Understand?”

Auryn growled, but that growl turned to a squeak when Dinir pinched his inner thigh. And when his lover pushed back into him, he did as he was told and pushed against his cock, a stuttering groan dragging free of his throat as Dinir took him with slow, even thrusts, in and out, enjoying the hot clutch of Auryn’s ass along the length of his prick. Auryn pushed out shuddering groans, louder and louder as he forgot to care how he sounded, though they were still muffled by his face being buried in the covers. By the time Dinir began to shudder and hoisted his hips up so he could thrust deep, sending blinding flares of pleasure/pain up Auryn’s spine, he was a boneless, sobbing mess.

He felt the crush of Dinir’s balls against his as he strained at his ass, cock twitching, spilling as deep inside him as he could force himself. Din exhaled hard when it was done, rocking back, catching himself on his hands as he let his softening cock linger in Auryn’s warmth. He sighed deeply again as he lowered himself onto Auryn’s back, kissing his skin, nuzzling the crook of his neck. He didn’t say anything, which was good, because Auryn was far too blitzed to comprehend much.

He came back to himself, exhausted and aching in the most wonderful way, cum drying on his thighs and his belly. One of Dinir’s hands had settled over his own, thumb stroking the line of one knuckle. His cock had slipped free when he shifted his weight to the side so he wasn’t crushing Auryn, but he was still pressed up tight against him, half on top of him, breathing deep against the back of his neck.

Auryn hated to talk about sex right after sex. Instead he flexed his fingers so Dinir’s settled between them, then squeezed them.

Silently, Dinir squeezed back, and pressed soft kisses against the nape of his neck. Auryn closed his eyes and let himself truly relax into the perfection of the moment, grateful that Dinir was someone who understood silence and knew the value of letting things speak for themselves.

 

They lay there, cooling off, long enough that Auryn started to feel like he was really in his own body again. When he shifted, scratching at dried fluids, Din kissed his neck and let him go.

“Let’s shower before we go,” he suggested. “Unless you need more rest. We don’t have to move yet.”

“I’m fine.” Auryn hauled himself out of bed and crossed to the shower. Dinir followed.

Auryn was half-afraid the shower would be used as an excuse for more sex, or at least a presumptuous amount of groping, but Din kept his hands to himself. He did touch his lower back once in a while, or his hip, as they maneuvered around one another to use the single spray. He supported Auryn while the slighter Morganian performed shower-yoga to clean his body out, and didn’t say anything off-color. When the spray was off and they stepped out, he took the first towel and wrapped it around Auryn’s shoulders, using it to tug him closer so he could steal soft, lingering kisses. But he didn’t keep him long, and once they got dry, re-dressing was all business.

Except for the part where Dinir sat on the edge of the bed behind him and brushed, then re-braided his hair. Auryn had to pin it back up, but he didn’t mind that. He found that Dinir’s hands in his hair, moving with steady confidence, callouses catching on individual strands, were comforting.

Dinir didn’t try to speak to him while they bundled up against the freezing damp and left the hotel. He didn’t speak as they rejoined the holiday throng, but he settled his hand on Auryn’s lower back and left it there, walking close to him as they headed back toward the market square. Auryn accepted this, moving closer, his coat making soft zippy noises as it brushed against Din’s with every step. When they came to a store with an interesting window display, Din arched an eyebrow and tilted his head in inquiry, and Auryn agreed with a head tilt of his own.

It was all so easy, so natural, that Auryn felt his guard melting as they moved between cafes and shops. They had a silent language already - that of the covert operation and hostile breach - and for several hours that seemed to slip away into timelessness they communicated entirely with glances and hand signals. The relief of not having to speak to make himself understood, not having to explain or justify himself, was so profound that by the time they stepped into Market Square Mall and took the glass elevators up to their favorite cafe, Auryn felt like he was wandering the city with Dinir in some kind of restful holiday dream.

Dinir kept his promise to buy him cocoa (generously spiked with cinnamon liquor, since Din was of Imperial drinking age) and ordered hot gingerbread cake with melted icing for the table. They ate it together - one plate, two forks - snug under the rain shield as they looked over the massive fir tree decorated in the center of the square and the ice rink and cocoa bar that had been constructed under it. The other sides of the tree were lined with food stalls selling roasted nuts, cinnamon funnel-bread, and mulled cider.

The first thing Dinir said out loud after they left the hotel was, "There's Lord Ekari."

Auryn looked. Riley was sweeping backwards around the rink with easy power and grace, his hands in Nol's. They were moving slowly with deference to Nol's advanced pregnancy, but Nol was radiating happiness and glee. He'd gotten much stronger on skates since he'd come to House Ekari - they froze their pond over every winter and played contact hockey, and sometimes piggy-back jousting with the smaller apprentices riding on their masters' shoulders. Of course they wouldn't do anything as dangerous at a public rink, or with Nol so close to delivery.

"You see Taka?" Auryn murmured, and Dinir turned to look. 

"... There, on the edge. His hood is up, but I recognize his posture."

Auryn relaxed knowing their Head of House hadn't skipped out on all of his security, not that Darth Scion really needed protection. Then he mentally kicked himself for not being able to pick Taka's posture out of a crowd.

Dinir's mouth quirked and he chuckled softly into his cocoa. It was Imperial-style: dark and bitter, thick with cream, cinnamon liquor and chili pepper heating the finish. It chased the damp away quite abley which was, of course, why Imperials drank it in the slushiest months of winter. "Don't be too hard on yourself. I've known him a lot longer, and you've done most of your training with me. I'll bet you could pick me out of a crowd no matter what I was wearing."

Dinir was slouching in his chair, legs sprawled carelessly, his posture cool and relaxed. It was an act, of course - the way he draped his arm over the back of his chair kept his hand inches from his shoulder holster - but Auryn realized that yes, he knew how Dinir stood and moved, the cadence of his footsteps, even the rustle of his clothing against his equipment. He knew the soft clink of the spoon as he stirred his chocolate, and he knew how to read warmth in those blank, red, Chiss eyes. 

Most Imperials found Chiss unnerving. But as Auryn held Dinir's amused gaze and felt exposed, he realized he'd never felt that way around Taka, Dinir, or Navi. His nerves now were 100% because he was certain Dinir knew more about him than he'd ever imagined anyone knowing, or wanting to know, and none of it because Auryn had told him.

Yet, he was equally certain Dinir wouldn't hurt him with that knowledge. Auryn was... on his team. And teammates had to trust each other. At least until Auryn went to Korriban and came back Sith, and then...?

Dinir's eyes narrowed. "What?" He slid his foot across the space under the table and nudged Auryn's boot.

Auryn shook himself out of it and hid behind his cocoa. "Just thinking about Korriban. And how things will change when I come back. I'll be Sith then."

"Yes," Din agreed. "But he won't force you into the hierarchy. Surely you know that."

"I don't know anything," Auryn said, looking out over the square where his boss, the Sith to whom he owed his allegiance, was spinning with his arms around his pregnant concubine.

Dinir followed his gaze. "Maybe he's waiting for you to tell him what you want. Do you know?" He gave Auryn a second, then said, "You know it's Sith Intelligence under Minister Beniko, now. There's space for someone like you. I mean space as a field agent, not like it was before."

Auryn's mouth tightened and he stabbed his fork into the gingerbread cake. "I don't want to work for the Empire. I want to work for House Ekari."

Dinir shrugged. "Then work for House Ekari. Listen, unless you drink the kool-aid on Korriban and come back really believing that I don't deserve to worship the ground you walk on... when you come back, I'll still be your TL."

Auryn gave him a dry look. "How does that work?" But Dinir just gave him a cool smile in return.

"I'll tell you what. If you come back, and I can still kick your arse... you work for me. If not, I'll call you ‘My Lord’ and we'll let the Boss sort it. What do you think?" He nudged Auryn's foot again. "Drink your cocoa, and don't worry so much." His tone went soft. "I'm not everybody else. I won't let you slip through the cracks."

That was a bit on the nose for Auryn's taste. He stuffed his mouth with gingerbread cake and used it as an excuse not to make eye contact for a few minutes while revelers sang and played holiday classics several stories below.

“What do you want for Life Day?” he asked eventually, watching Imperial citizens pass below with piles of wrapped parcels. Because he was watching, he didn’t see Dinir’s expression change, but he heard his smile in his voice.

“I want to skip the family dinner and spend a quiet night in with you.”

Auryn shot him a look. “That’s not fair. If you’re getting me something physical, I can hardly reciprocate with my company.”

“I have a salary,” Dinir replied, cutting off a bite of cake with slow, precise application of the edge of his fork. “I can buy myself anything I need that isn’t covered in the operational budget, and I generally have a policy of no Life Day gifts that aren’t functional. You, on the other hand, aren’t quite financially independent yet, and nothing you could buy for me would hold my attention if I had you in my lap, or in my bed. It won’t be a production,” he assured Auryn, who was looking ruffled. “Just show up. We’ll drink, have dinner sent up, make fun of cheesy Life Day movies. Pajama dress code. Just us.”

He dragged the bit of cake he’d cut through the pool of icing, then lifted it to his mouth. His eyes lingered on Auryn’s.

Auryn hated family celebrations – he always wound up on the outskirts, awkwardly watching while others shared joy and affection. He wasn’t sure how he felt about cheesy Life Day movies, but he enjoyed Dinir’s sense of humor, and Dinir wouldn’t mind his cynicism and biting opinions. He knew he had no objection to hot wine and a private dinner.

He imagined being wrapped in Dinir’s arms, surrounded by his scent, head on his shoulder. He imagined being spread out on the couch and mounted. He imagined waking up on Life Day morning tangled up with miles of soft, blue skin and what Dinir’s hair would look like in the morning, how he would smile if Auryn woke him with touches and kisses and urged him into another lazy round.

He slid his foot across the space under the table and nudged Dinir’s boot. “Okay. Yes.”

The smile Dinir flashed matched Auryn’s imaginings almost exactly.


	2. Snowfall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rentaa and Shae exist in a somewhat generic fantasy world with more than the usual generic fantasy species. Shae is a member of a fully hermaphroditic original species. A slight majority of Drolr use gender-neutral pronouns that translate most directly from their language, which doesn't have gender markers. Others choose what feels right to them.
> 
> This story contains a lot of sweetness, very light and mostly playful D/s, and the aforementioned alien biology. Also a cameo by dwarf women with actual beards because I'm not a fucking coward.

The Old Wood was thick even in the winter, conifers interspersed with the bare branches of deciduous trees, their skeletal appearance softened by new snowfall. Ren and Shae had reached the inn at Fallcrest, but decided mutually to push on to Dragonsgate. Shae wanted to be home, and though Ren had plenty of apprehensions regarding the Tower Overlook, he wanted Shae to be happy, so he agreed as if he too couldn’t wait to climb into his own (untested) bed in his own (unfamiliar) room.

The Tower Overlook wasn’t home for him yet, but wherever Shae was, that was where he wanted to be.

Over the darkness of the canopy, a faint light haze against the sky showed how close they were. The snow fell silently, drifting out of the blackness, and even though they were on a wide, well-used road between a major city and a sizable township, it felt like the two of them were alone in an empty, darkened world. Their breath made clouds in the crystalline air, and in the distance a loud crack broke the silence as a fir tree adjusted to the cold.

Ren slowed to a stop, reaching out to catch Shae’s elbow. “It’s beautiful,” he said softly, when the Drolr raised one brow ridge at him in silent question. He tipped his head back, fat snowflakes settling in his ink black hair and melting against the graceful curve of his horns.

“Yes,” he agreed at length. “It is.” He didn’t point out that they’d been traveling together through ice and snow on winding paths through the Old Wood for months now, and that this late-night snowfall was no different from a dozen others.

Ren took his hand, though he could barely feel Shae’s warmth through their wool-lined leather gloves. This too, Shae didn’t question.

Ren drew him in slowly, winding his other hand in the thickness of Shae’s scarf. Shae’s tail twitched sharply as they bumped together, boots squeaking a little as they compressed the snow into ice, adjusting angles to account for armor and thick cloaks. But once they figured that out, he leaned into kissing Ren with easy familiarity. Against the crisp winter air, even Shae felt warm, and his forked tongue slid against Ren’s when he coaxed it into play. Shae wasn’t usually willing to make public displays, but in that perfect, serene silence, there could be no doubt they were utterly alone.

When they parted Shae’s talons, bare since the cold never bothered him, slid light along Ren’s cheek and into his hair. “Are you all right?” he asked softly, and Ren sighed, leaning in, bumping his forehead against the base of his horns.

“I haven’t wintered at Overlook before,” he murmured. “Or spent so much consecutive time around Lord Caes. All this time since we started working together, it’s just been me and you.”

Shae curled his fingers and brushed the backs of his knuckles across the short beard Ren had grown since the first freeze. He kissed him again, soft, reassuring, and gave a faint purr when Ren’s tongue tangled with his. “You’re a good soldier,” he said, lips brushing Ren’s as he spoke. “Lord Caes can appreciate that. You don’t need to act like a noble or a merchant trying to curry favor. Just be yourself, and treat him like a good soldier treats his Lord or Prince.”

Ren gave him one of those smiles that Shae had learned meant there was something about Ren’s past that Shae fundamentally misunderstood, but he nodded. “I get it. But I’m still… not good at mingling. I’m even worse at a party. I hope you’ll be running interference.”

“Unless Lord Caes requires that I do otherwise, I will remain at your side,” Shae promised him. “Perhaps I’ll even grace you with a dance.”

Ren broke into a grin. “Oh, will you? Really?” he teased, bumping his nose against Shae’s and kissing him once more. “I’m honored in advance.”

Shae purred deeper, tail coiling as the tip curled around Ren’s ankle. “You should be.” He nuzzled his mate, his partner and sword-brother, and then let him go – kissing in the snow was very romantic, but was bound to leave both their mouths chapped. Better to save it until they were safely ensconced in his lord’s demesne, wrapped up naked together in fine cotton and under thick furs with a fire roaring in the grate and plenty of hot, spiced cider to chase away the winter’s chill. Rentaa was quite sturdy for a human, but his skin was much colder than usual to Shae’s touch, and that made him eager to get his lover to the warm welcome and shelter of Tower Overlook and then to bed, where he could run his talons over every inch of him and make sure the cold hadn’t nipped away anything important.

Ren was already wearing a cloak, but Shae unbuckled his and swung it around his shoulders anyway. Ren smiled sheepishly. 

“Your wings.”

“Aren’t bothered. We’ll be home soon,” Shae reassured him, and turned to continue their quiet trek. The snow covering the road was pristine, but the road to Dragonsgate had small pillars lining it, coiled dragons with open mouths glowing with pale flame. Now that they were on the last leg of their journey, there was no danger of losing their way.

The road rose and curved around sloping hills where hopps grew in the summer. The brewery came into view first, nestled on the edge of the Truin River, nothing but a black ribbon in the night. Then the lights of the city were revealed, and the green glow of the bridge, and high above them, perched on the edge of a darkened mountain that made it look like it was floating in the sky, the white pillars of the Tower Overlook. Home.

Ren paused again to take it all in. “Wow. It’s pretty in the snow.”

Shae reached over and took his hand. “Come. The city corps of engineers outdo themselves each year with decorations.” The road sloped gently down to the pool of light, brightly painted tabards advertising the inns that lined the road. Very few people were still out and about at that hour, mostly the night watch and a few citizens burning the midnight oil, doubtless feeling the pressure of the upcoming solstice festivities. As they passed a house of revelry still in full swing, music drifting out through the swinging doors, one of the night watch called out.

“Hail, Knights of Dragonsgate!”

“Knights errant!” one of the dwarven women who staffed the establishment called, raising a beer to them. “Welcome home! Hot drinks will be yours for telling stories of your travels!”

Ren raised an eyebrow, but Shae gave a slight head-shake, so he turned to the escort and bowed. “You do us honor. Perhaps another night – we’re expected.”

“On with you, then!” She laughed and drained her mug, dripping the winter ale into her beard, and Ren smiled and slid his arm through Shae’s. It was warmer in town, and the streets had obviously been cleared just before nightfall, as the snowfall had left the cobblestones lightly fuzzed but not icy. Nevertheless, the runners who passed by wore their cobbled boots, nails ringing on the stones as they scampered along pulling rickshaws or carrying messenger bags. Shae tossed a silver to one, easily twice the required fare, and he happily abandoned his intent to go home and turn in to take them the rest of the way.

It was good to rest. Shae leaned against Ren’s side, tucking himself under his arm and into the warmth of both cloaks as they finally shed their traveling packs, letting them rest at their feet. Those cloaks, rich green with gold embroidery, announced them to anyone who cared to look and several more citizens welcomed them home for Solstice as they rode through town. Shae ignored them, confident that Ren would play the part of local hero well enough for both of them.

A pair of pixies spun in the air above a group singing carols outside the Dragon’s Pint. They shed sparkling dust in pink and gold over the carolers, laughing in high-pitched giggles as they chased one another. Their runner slowed as they passed the famous tavern, but when neither of them called to stop, he went on to the bridge. It was draped in garlands and ribbon, green faery fire glowing along the crest, almost disguising the fact that the bridge resembled a dragon massive enough to stand astride the river with its head on one bank, mouth full of green flame, and its tail curled on the other. Passing members of the watch saluted them, and at the watch post on the opposite side, the night captain welcomed them warmly.

“Knight Captain! A very warm welcome,” he enthused, speaking through a snowy crimson beard so thick they could barely see his lips move. “And to you, good Sir Durin. Your first solstice at Overlook, isn’t it now? I believe both you and our good Captain were away last year.

“It is,” Shae said. He dug in his pack for their papers and passed them over for inspection.

“No fear of orcs in the mountains, then?”

“The new defenses are stout,” Ren answered as the guard captain examined the sigils on their paperwork. “We’ll get word if there’s trouble.”

“Excellent, excellent,” he muttered, clearing his throat with a heavy guffaw. “Everything in order, then. The lift is ready for you.” He stepped over to the calling stone as Shae took their papers back and shepherded Ren onto the platform lift that carried goods and visitors to the Tower. “Right, boy, bring ‘em up,” he barked.

The lift shuddered and began to move.

It ratcheted rhythmically as it rose up the side of the mountain, gears turning slowly in their sockets. They stood together at the railing, looking down at the city sparkling, and the lights on the black of the river. Here and there, small boats traversed the current, or still had lanterns lit while they were scuttled on the landing. Ren slid his arm around Shae’s waist.

“I’m starting to see why you love this place,” he murmured, but Shae just shrugged.

“It is the only home I have ever had. The only place I have been welcome.”

Ren squeezed harder in reassurance as they rode upward into the night, approaching the Tower Landing, where a young dwarven adept was manning the lift controls.

“Good sirs, welcome home!” he declared as the lift locked into place on the platform. “I’ve announced your arrival. Lord Caes bids you change, refresh, and warm yourselves, and he will see you in his library before you retire. You’re not to rush; his Lordship is feeling wakeful and engaged in study.”

“Very well, thank you.” Shae guided Ren up a set of shallow steps with smooth ramps for carts breaking them at intervals, and into the storage rooms. No one was on duty inside, so they passed unnoticed through the massive double-doors on the other side, built for a giant’s stature, and walked the wide, vaulted hallways. Everything was outsized, engineered to make a human or dwarf (or Drolr) seem small. Lord Caes had chosen to keep the grandeur of the place, and had employed dwarves to make sure it was possible for normal-sized residents to access the facilities. Thus, when they arrived at Shae’s suite, the door opened easily and silently under his hand even though it was taller than Shae would have been if he stood on Rentaa’s shoulders.

The room had been cleaned in preparation for their arrival. A fire cracked in the grate, and a handful of firespice had been tossed in to make the room smell of cinnamon and cloves. The dust was gone, and the thick, warped glass in the windows gleamed. Fresh pine garlands had been laid across the windows, bound in red ribbons, and across the mantle. Furs lined with soft wool had been draped across the rustic furniture and the floor in front of the fireplace.

They took their boots off and shook out their cloaks, hanging them by the door, moving around one another in comfortable silence. They helped each other with their armor, unfastening buckles and loosening ties with deft familiarity. Then, because they had nothing to hide from one another, they stripped off damp tunics and pants and long knitted underwear, crossing to the door to Shae’s bedroom, beyond which was a bath that had been made, like everything else in the Tower Overlook, for a giant. It had been filled, and steamed gently thanks to a few large runestones nestled in a nook in the tub’s edge. Ren hissed softly as he lowered himself in, but soon settled with a groan into the heat. Shae climbed in without issue, stretching his wings before letting them soften in the water.

For several long moments they both just floated and let the water chase the chill from their bones. Then Ren touched his wing strut, and held up a glass vial in offering. Shae readily swam across the tub to settle in front of him, facing away from him, wings caped around his shoulders, and let his lover knead strong, calloused fingers through his hair. It pooled between his fingers like black silk, gleaming as he rubbed soap into it and dislodged the sweat and grime of the road, and Shae purred softly under his hands, leaning against Ren’s strong chest and letting himself truly relax for the first time in months.

Ren used a nearby pitcher to slowly pour water over his head, washing the suds free, then washed his hair for him again. It would be cleaner and softer than it had been since he’d been home last, when they were finished. When that was done, he took a bar of soap thick with herbs and eucalyptus and rubbed suds over Shae’s chest and shoulders, kneading his hands over his wing struts, popping them gently in a firm grip like he might pop the knuckles on his fingers. He cupped one hand under Shae’s jaw and guided his head back, careful of the points of his back-swept horns, and kissed him over and over as he rubbed calloused palms over his thick, sueded skin.

Shae twisted in his arms, climbing aboard his lap and straddling him as he pressed against his human lover’s warmth and kissed him deeper, with proprietary heat. Ren’s hands slid up between his wings, making him arch and growl softly, tail stiffening in response. “We shouldn’t keep Lord Caes waiting.”

“The dwarf said there was no rush,” Ren replied, leaning in to suck hard on his lower lip. Shae arched, growled, and dragged his talons through the hair on Ren’s chest.

“Still,” he muttered as his lover’s hands caressed him, “There will be time for this after. And his sense of smell is better than you think.”

Ren paused, looking dubious. “We’re in a bathtub, surrounded by soap and herbs and stuff that smells stronger than we’re likely to.”

Shae closed his eyes and leaned in, resting his brow ridges against Ren’s forehead. “He’ll still know. For courtesy’s sake.”

“As you wish.” Ren cupped his cheek, and Shae nuzzled into the roughness of his palm and surrendered to more kisses. But kisses were all he took, keeping his hands in more neutral territory as they relaxed in each other’s’ arms and scrubbed the road off themselves.

Fresh clothes awaited Shae, laid out on his bed. He frowned at that, then flushed when he realized the servants hadn’t expected that Ren would be staying in his room. They kept their relationship very private. While Lord Caes almost certainly knew, he hadn’t deigned to comment, so Rakshael had not made any formal requests to have Rentaa bunked with him. That was his oversight, and there was no way Ren would fit in Shae’s clothes, being a full head taller and half again as broad.

“… I’m guessing my clothes are in my room,” Ren said from behind him. “Wherever that is.”

“On this hall. There aren’t many of us, so it should be apparent once we look. I’ll go now and bring them back for you.” He climbed into the breeches and slid his tail through the hole, lacing them up the sides, then pulled a clean white shirt and deep green doublet on over them. Ren smiled wryly and crawled onto his bed, sprawling across the extra furs and making himself comfortable. The sight of his scarred and muscled body, dark-skinned and kissed with darker hair, spread out on his bed, almost shook Rakshael’s resolve to withhold intimacy until AFTER they’d been debriefed. He turned away and adjusted his wings against the doublet’s slits before tying down the back panel.

He slipped out and went hunting for Rentaa’s room assignment, but he didn’t have to go far. The room directly across the hall from him, which had been empty as long as he’d lived in the Tower, had been scrubbed clean and filled with furniture, rugs, tapestries, a fire in the fireplace and wood stacked in the cradle, weapon and armor stands, and when Shae peeked into the attached bedroom, plenty of clothes.

Well. At least he wasn’t far. But Shae hadn’t slept apart from him for nearly a year. Was it presumptuous to assume Ren would want to keep staying with him?

Rakshael was not good at relationships. His previous acrimonious break-up was testament enough to that.

He picked up the clothes that had been laid out and pulled a few extra from the wardrobe, and brought them all back with him.

Ren was half-asleep when he arrived. Shae sighed and set the clothes on the storage trunk at the foot of his bed, easing in beside him. 

“Mmmmhey,” Ren murmured, smiling sleepily at him. He had told Shae that this was a greeting, that ‘hey’ was short for ‘hail’ where he came from. Shae was getting used to it, but he still mistook it for ‘hay’ enough to be confused.

“Don’t go to sleep.” Shae couldn’t resist leaning over him and kissing his forehead. “We have a debriefing. Then we can sleep.”

“No,” Ren said, voice dropping in a way that made Shae’s stomach drop with it. “We have a debriefing, and then I can spread you out on this massive bed and fuck you until you can’t take any more of my cock.”

Shae swallowed and ran his talons through his hair. “Yes,” he breathed. “After.”

“After,” Ren promised, and pressed a kiss into his palm. Then he forced himself to sit up and dress, and pull on the shiny new leather boots that had been left for him. Dragonsgate colors looked much better on him than they did on Rakshael’s pale, chiaroscuro form. He’d asked Lord Caes many times if he could wear black with the gold and green, to no avail. If anything, his discomfort amused his Lord. Then again, most things amused Lord Caes, when they didn’t anger him.

They walked together through the open halls, up sweeping flights of stairs, to the highest level of the tower where Lord Caes made his home. As promised, he was in his library, which most likely put the library at the mage college in Seaport to shame with shelves soaring overhead, accessible by wrought-iron catwalks with spiral stairways, and stained glass skylights. He sprawled on an overstuffed sofa, lean frame propped against the arm, a pile of books scattered across a low table and two more in his lap. A cup of tea sat on a folded piece of scrap parchment, still steaming despite having been nearly finished thanks to the magical sigils etched into the bottom of the mug.

He looked up when they entered, eyes the green of new leaves in the spring and flecked with gold crinkling in amusement. His hair was the palest gold, almost silvery, and his ears rose to long, tapered points, more delicate than a common wood elf’s.

“Ah. There you are.” He kicked his feet off the sofa and gestured them to the opposite chairs. “Please, sit. Join me. Tell me about our defenses in the north and west, first. Then, I must have a more thorough recounting of the tower on mirror pond. It sounded much more thrilling than Rakshael let on. Rentaa,” he said, lounging and spreading his arms across the back of the couch. His keen eyes searched Ren, cataloguing him. “I hope you’re satisfied with the work, and with the recompense. I sense you’re fully satisfied being our captain’s partner.”

Shae bristled in embarrassment, but Ren just folded his hands and relaxed in his seat. “I’m very satisfied, my lord. You’ve shown me hospitality I had no right to expect. If you’re pleased with my work, it would be my honor to continue to serve you and keep your lands and vassals safe.”

“Tomorrow I’ll hear from Rakshael about your performance,” Caes told him. “For now, let’s get to business.”

*** 

“Well?” Ren murmured as they walked back to Shae’s quarters, both of them aching and thoroughly ready to crash. “Are you going to give me a good performance review?”

Shae gave him a dry look. “I sense this is the time to make a joke about your sexual performance,” he drawled, “but I’m afraid I can’t think of one.”

Ren chuckled. “That’s all right. Your sense of humor isn’t what I like about you.”

Shae locked the doors and dropped the deadbolt. He barely had time to turn around before Ren was on him, tugging at the laces on his doublet, pressing him hard against the door as he kissed him deep and hungry. He squirmed, adjusting the lay of his wing struts, and sank his claws into Ren’s hair as he surrendered to his lover’s passion.

Ren unlaced his doublet much more rapidly than Shae had laced it. His hands, rough and warm, slid up under the fabric and traced miles of lean belly and wiry muscle. Shae raised his arms when he was urged, and let his mate wrestle him out of his clothes and press his bare back against the wood.

“What do you like?” he whispered as Ren’s fingertips traced his face, and his kisses gentled, hips grinding slowly against Shae’s.

Ren murmured, “Mm?” His mouth was otherwise occupied nipping and sucking on Shae’s lower lip. Shae gave a soft groan and spread his legs, rocking his hips up against his lover’s, letting Ren’s warmth rouse a response in him.

“About me,” he gasped when Ren finally let his mouth be and attacked his throat instead. “What DO you like?”

Ren gave a soft laugh, teeth grazing Shae’s pulse point. “What do I LIKE? I like everything about you, Shae.” His dark brown eyes gleamed, reflecting the firelight, as he lifted his head to nuzzle him. “I like how you look. I like how you feel. You’re so beautiful.”

“I’m a monster.”

Ren’s smile faded. “You’re a different species,” he said firmly. “There’s nothing monstrous about that. Where I come from, dozens of species live together. I won’t claim it’s always peaceful, or that there’s never any trouble, but the galaxy is diverse and that’s the norm. You know I speak five languages, and I understand at least four more?” He smiled wryly, nuzzling Shae. “Of course, none of them are useful here. But that’s just normal. It’s not like here, where everybody speaks Trade and Oald Dwarrow and calls it a day.”

“I speak Lindwyrm,” Shae replied. “And I can understand the High Tongue.”

“That’s because you’re very smart, which is one of many things I like about you,” Ren assured him. “But I think you’re beautiful. Stunning, even. Makes me feel like a lump, standing next to you.”

Shae’s heavy brow ridges arched. “That’s nonsense.”

“Well.” He smiled, dipping his head to rasp his beard deliciously over Shae’s throat, and earned a purring growl and the drag of Shae’s talons in kneading strokes over his strong shoulders. “Okay. Around here, having clear skin and all your own teeth goes a long way.”

Shae moaned, horns digging into the door as he tried to offer more of his throat to his lover’s mouth. “You’re… a fine figure of a man… especially for a human,” he gasped. “I’m not the only one who suspects something otherworldly hangs about you.”

That earned a snort, despite the truth of it. Ren had never been very clear about where, exactly, he came from – only that Rakshael had never heard of it, and he had no intention of going back. There were legends, myths, religious stories of demi-gods and spirits who fought great battles across the heavens and who would descend to take the bravest and greatest mortals to reside in the shadow of their glory after death. Shae privately thought Ren was one of these, and his reason was somewhat mundane – his teeth were as perfect and white as if they had just grown in yesterday. True, his body had scars and signs of hard use, but his skin was beautiful. There were no signs of pox or illness at any point in his life, and Shae had examined him quite thoroughly for any flaw. His height suggested he’d never suffered malnutrition. Either he came from great wealth, or from a land where sickness and deprivation were unknown. Furthermore, he didn’t worship the gods, rather the same way Shae didn’t worship Lord Caes – he was too familiar with his liege to be overawed. Ren never denigrated the beliefs of others unless they were objectively harmful, but he didn’t participate in any religious observances himself.

He did, however, watch the sky every evening as if he was waiting for something familiar to be revealed beyond the usual stars. The sky was very different where he came from. That much, he had confessed to Shae one night over a crackling fire.

Shae respected the gods, but he wasn’t terribly religious either. Yet, touching Ren made him feel like he was touching something holy that had been made flesh. He mapped the muscles in his back, talons leaving faint red lines across his skin, and pushed his erection against his lover’s hip.

“Bed,” he growled, stretching his wings wide and then folding them around Rentaa, enclosing them in a leathery tent that muffled the sound of the fire. “Please.”

Shae was heavier than he looked, but Ren had proven on multiple occasions that he was no burden. He scooped him up and carried him into the bedroom, spilling him across the furs where he had lain so gloriously just a few hours earlier. This time Ren was on top, pressing him down, but giving him enough room to adjust his wings and tail before he settled his weight onto Shae. They kissed hard, hungry for each other, and Ren shed the rest of his clothes, naked and gorgeous in the blissful warmth of Shae’s well-appointed room.

Shae groaned as his womb pulsed, slickness between his thighs, and shifted when Ren’s cock slid dangerously close to that heat. “Careful….”

“Don’t worry,” Ren whispered against one pointed ear. “I wouldn’t risk it. Can I touch you there?”

He was such a gentleman; always asking permission. Shae didn’t always give it, but for the first time in a long time, he wished he could pull Ren inside him the traditional way and finally soothe the ache of emptiness in his belly. Rentaa made him feel safe, cared for, in a way he’d never experienced. It was wonderful, but it also meant he was getting nesting urges with worryingly greater frequency.

He was NOT ready to lay. He’d barely figured out being someone’s mate. He wasn’t ready to try to figure out parenthood.

Ren’s fingers were strong and calloused. They found his cock and gave him a fondling stroke, making him growl and rock his hips up into his lover’s grip. Then they slipped lower, probing his slick heat. That made him give an embarrassing mewl, spreading wide, inviting him to touch him deeper. Ren complied. His knuckles rubbed against the swollen flesh around his slit, and Shae gasped, talons raking down his back and earning a groan. Then they slid inside, and Shae groaned through his teeth, thrusting up into his hand and rubbing his swollen shaft against Ren’s inner wrist.

Ren was whispering the meaningless encouragements he tended to slip into when they were alone together. “That’s it, baby… that’s it, come on…” His hand worked against Shae, teasing him inside, driving him wild until his fangs gnashed and he thrust hard up against his hand, claws digging into his flesh. “So fucking gorgeous,” Ren murmured into his neck, biting and sucking on his skin, giving him the sensation of being pinned down to be mated even though they both knew he wouldn’t mate him in truth.

His belly ached and he felt Ren’s knuckles slip in his wetness. Thoroughly coated now, he withdrew them and slid them down, pressing them against his back entrance. His thumb slid into Shae’s slit in their place, rubbing against him, guiding more of his slickness down to coat Ren’s palm. He relaxed and let one finger slip into him, then two, eyes rolling back as his lover patiently worked him open.

“That’s it, Shae, get nice and wet for me… fuck, you smell good, can I…?”

Ah, yes, another of those things Ren did that seemed foreign to Shae. But pleasant. He nodded, and Ren slid down his body, kissing his chest, his belly, the line of his thigh. He draped Shae’s legs over his shoulders and dragged his tongue along his slit and Shae keened, glad beyond words for thick walls and a nearly empty hall. Ren sucked and pushed his tongue into him even as his fingers kept working him open, rubbing his wetness across his anus and massaging the tight ring of muscle into relaxation. Shae writhed, arching, trying to clench on that teasing tongue and spilling curses into the air as his talons slid through Ren’s hair. He cried out in frustrated need as Ren’s fingers massaged his upper wall, teasing him with subtle friction. His mouth slid upward and wrapped around his shaft, tracing him from root to tip.

“Ren,” he snarled. “Mount me…”

He lifted off Shae’s cock long enough to murmur, “Not yet.” He pressed a soft kiss to his tip and then moved back down to his cunt, thrusting his tongue into him as he dragged his fingers across his upper wall, scissoring them as Shae writhed under him, toes curled until his talons dug into the soles of his feet. His other hand wrapped around Shae’s slick cock and stroked him slow and steady.

Many of their previous couplings had been rushed or subdued, a necessity of staying at inns with neighbors just on the other side of a thin wooden wall. Ren apparently intended to take full advantage of the luxury and privacy of finally being home. He kept driving Shae crazy, eventually adding a third finger and working all three against him as his tongue teased the folds of his cunt from the other side. Shae was forced to sink his hands into the furs and dig his claws in hard to keep himself from clawing Ren’s fragile human flesh. His tail stiffened and quivered, wings flared across the width of the bed as he gasped and arched into his lover’s busy hands and hungry mouth.

Shae was quivering wildly, on the edge of a maddening, empty orgasm when Ren finally withdrew his fingers and lifted his head, wiping his mouth on one forearm. “Come on,” he urged gently, tugging on Shae’s hip. “Over.”

Yes, less risky that way. Less chance of Ren’s cock slipping into the wrong hole during an energetic rutting. But Shae mewled plaintively, dazed, drowning in the NEED for that thick, heavy cock to be buried where he really needed it. Ren paused, and for a heart-stopping moment, Shae thought he might actually… but then he just gave him a thoughtful smile and helped him roll over, coaxing his hips into the air and pressing up behind him. The hot tip of his prick nestled up under Shae’s tail and found his entrance, the right one, the one that wouldn’t leave him egg-laden into the spring when they planned to start a new circuit of the realm. He gasped raggedly and dug his teeth into the bedcovers as Ren pushed into him, filling him just right and all wrong at the same time.

“Shhh,” he whispered against the back of Shae’s neck, hands sliding up between his wings in an intimate, soothing caress. “I’ve got you, baby. I know what you need.”

What he needed was a way to let Rentaa mate him hard and thoroughly without getting pregnant because of it. But Drolr were ridiculously fertile, and most of the usual mundane methods wouldn’t make a dent in their ability to conceive. Ren had indicated, without actually saying as much, that condoms were far superior where he came from, but even the finest local lambskin couldn’t be fully trusted. Magical infertility treatments needed to be reapplied regularly and that was a huge money-sink, but the way he felt right then, with Ren’s weight nestled up behind him and his cock grinding against the wrong side of that sensitive inner wall, he almost wanted to ask Caes to cover it as a favor.

“Ha-arder,” he moaned, arching his back to try to get his ass to fit tighter against Ren’s hips.

His mate obligingly gripped his hips and thrust hard into him. It was so good, so close, almost what he needed. Shae found himself drooling into the covers, making noises he would never admit to in the light of day, tail lifted in a silent plea that Ren ignored. And that was GOOD, that was what he wanted, he wasn’t ready for hatchlings running around. But fuck, his body craved his lover’s heat, needed him inside, needed to squeeze him and writhe on his cock and receive his seed. It felt like heat, that wordless demand that pounded in his blood, and he keened, wings stretching and quivering, as his lover fucked him into the furs.

His orgasm felt interminable. Ren was driving at him hard, all teasing forgotten, but his body wasn’t satisfied. His womb clenched, cunt tightening on nothing, driving him into wild gnashing of his teeth against the covers. Ren’s hands helped, kneading across his back, tugging and squeezing the root of his struts and soothing some of the need. But still, when they collapsed together, panting, the pleasant ache in Shae’s belly was hollow.

He heaved a sigh, melting into the bed. His wings draped askew, hanging off the edges of the mattress. Ren smiled against the back of his neck, kissing him, arms sliding around him to make sure he was well-covered by his mate’s heat.

“I know,” Ren murmured against the back of his neck. “Shhh, I know. I know what you need.”

“We can’t,” he whispered back.

“We can. Give me until Solstice to figure it out? It can be my present to you.” He kissed up behind Shae’s ear, careful of his horns. “I won’t do anything you don’t want. I promise.”

He wouldn’t. Shae knew that deep in his core – Ren had never been anything but trustworthy with him. His discipline was written in every bone, in every callous on those knotted hands. He was too blitzed to really consider what Ren might be up to, but he had faith that nothing his partner did would hurt him.

“Stay there,” he slurred, comfortable and drowsy under Ren’s sprawled weight. Ren grinned and gave his neck more kisses, beard rubbing against his skin, a delicious sensation that made him purr.

“As you wish.”


End file.
